LONDON — Right-wing firebrand and populist politician Nigel Farage resigned as leader of his U.K. Independence Party on Monday morning, the latest political bombshell to hit the nation as it grapples with fallout from last month’s vote to leave the European Union.

“I have never wanted to be a career politician. That is why I now feel that I’ve done my bit,” Farage, who helped spearhead the campaign to leave the E.U., said Monday in a televised press conference.